NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Nova Master!
The time was around lunch, which was the time when there were the most pedestrians on the road.
Jonouchi temporarily borrowed the new Duel Disk that had just been unpacked from the good buddy Yugi and assembled it and went outside the store with Yuei Vu. The two stood in the open space and opened the venue, which also attracted more and more pedestrians to watch on the side of the road.
"I have to warn you in advance."
Jonouchi inserted the deck into the Duel Disk, activated and deployed the machine, and his face was full of confidence.
"I am strong."
Yuei Vu smiled slightly and didn't say anything, but he also started a duel.
"Come on Jonouchi!" His friends including Yugi began to cheer.
Itou Chika stood quietly in the opposite aisle, looking curiously at Yuei Vu who was exchanging cards with the other party.
This guy… it's really okay…
"Duel!" x2
[Yuei Vu, LP 4000]
[Jonouchi, LP 4000]
"I go first, draw!" Jonouchi quickly entered the dueling state, "I summon the 'Masaki the Legendary Swordsman', attack!"
A special effect of light and shadow appeared on the ground, rolling up a circular airflow. A three-dimensional monster card appeared in front of Jonouchi, and a soldier in green armor and a helmet appeared in the eyes of everyone. He lowered his head, half of his face hidden in the shadows, his hand on the handle of the knife was ready to go, like a battle-hardened warrior.
[Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, ATK 1100]
"Then I'll set an S/T card," Jonouchi continued, "I can't attack in the first turn, so I end my turn!"
Yuei Vu glanced at the warrior in green armor in front of him.
Sure enough, when you first came up, you could only start with a low-attack Normie…
...It really is a harmonious game environment.
"It's my turn. This is what I want to summon…"
Yuei Vu drew a card from his hand.
"Elemental HERO Sparkman!"
The blue warrior flew out surrounded by electricity, and even put on a close-up pose of the hero.
[Elemental HERO Sparkman, ATK 1600]
"Next, I equip Legendary Sword to Sparkman!" Yuei Vu played out a spell card, "The ATK of equipped Warrior monster can be increased by 300 points!"
[Elemental HERO Sparkman, ATK 1600 → ATK 1900]
"Sparkman, attack Masaki the Legendary Swordsman!"
The blue warrior who was wrapped in electric current flew forward, and the blade cut an arc with an electric current in the air. The quaint swordsman in front of him was completely unable to fight back under the suppression of the hero of the new era, and even the sword was easily cut in half by the sword of electric current.
Snapped!
The image of the swordsman was torn apart, turned into countless fragments, and slumbered into the cemetery.
[Jonouchi, LP 4000→LP 3200]
Jonouchi raised his arms to protect him in front of him, gritted his teeth, and smiled: "It's pretty good."
Passerby A: "Wow, that duelist is so strong, he actually suppressed the runner-up of the Duelist Kingdom!"
Passerby B: "Yes, he can play this combination of monsters and spell cards in the first turn. He is indeed a very powerful character."
"Hey Jonouchi, what are you doing? Be serious!" This was from Hiroto Honda, his best friend.
"That duelist named Yuei Vu gave me a very special feeling." Yugi also looked serious, "I think he might be really strong."
Itou Chika was silent by the side without speaking.
"…"
[Favorability +6]
Yuei Vu: "…"
Yuei Vu, who was praised by passers-by, not only did not feel prideful but even felt a little embarrassed…
Enough!
Didn't I just play a spell card? Why did all of you react like I have summoned three Blazars and two Quasars in one round?
(Cosmic Blazar Dragon, and Shooting Quasar Dragon were all Synchro monsters with notoriously harsh summoning conditions)
This hype made even Sparkman swell up. At this moment, he clenched the hilt of his sword and held his head high. He really had the illusion of "I'm an ACE monster".
"You are really strong," Jonouchi smiled, and his expression immediately became awe-inspiring, "Then I can't lose! At this moment, I open the set card: Spell card – Stray Lambs!"
The emerald green spell card was opened, and two harmless sheep, one red and one white, immediately appeared on the field.
[Lamb Token, DEF 0] x2
"This card can summon two Lamb Tokens on my field!" Jonouchi explained.
Although this was a normal spell card, Yuei Vu has gradually become numb to the operation of "activating a spell card in the opponent's turn".
However, he also made up his mind. When he has a chance, he must go to Kaiba or Pegasus to modify the rules of the game. Maybe he couldn't make the rules as strict as the real card game, but at least it had to be a little more presentable.
"My turn, draw!"
Jonouchi saw the next card drawn, and his eyes lit up again.
Very good, I can attack with this card!
"I summon Panther Warrior in attack position!"
The Panther Warrior holding the blade shouted and jumped out from the interweaving light and shadow. He was as dark as a Wakanda, and with a cloak tied behind him, he was quite heroic.
[Panther Warrior, ATK 2000]
"Panther Warrior has 2000 ATK even though it is a Level 4 monster, but he must sacrifice a monster on his field to attack."
As he explained, he waved to a lamb next to him: "I tribute a Lamb Token and attack Sparkman with Panther Warrior!"
The white lamb disappeared from the field with a burst of blue sublimation light effect. The leopard warrior who received the sacrifice raised his head and roared loudly. He rushed forward and slashed Sparkman. Just one strike and the hero along with his equipment broke into pixels.
[Yuei Vu, LP 4000 → LP 3900]
To be honest, it's a bit of a loss for Yuei Vu, but it's also to be expected. Although the current Jonouchi has not reached the height of the later stage, it would be a bit too unrealistic if he couldn't even solve a Normal monster with ATK 1900.
(Sparkman: What? So I'm not an ace monster?)
Next came Yuei Vu.
"My turn! Summon Elemental HERO Clayman in the Defense position. I end my turn."
[Elemental HERO Clayman, DEF 2000]
"Hey, Yuei, you may think that Clayman's DEF is 2000, equal to Panther Warrior's ATK, so he can't be defeated for the time being." Jonouchi smiled confidently again, "If you think so, you are wrong because Panther Warrior is not my trump card!"
Yuei Vu: I never felt that this black panther was your trump card…
"My turn, draw!" Jonouchi exaggeratedly drew a card from his hand, "Now I want to summon this guy, my true ace, the strongest dragon – Red-Eyes Black Dragon!!!"
(Blue-Eyes White Dragon: What did you say? I didn't hear clearly just now…)
The remaining Lamb Token and the leopard warrior disappeared from the field one after another. A whirlwind rolled up, and scarlet beams rose from a dark vortex on the ground.
In the center of the vortex, a jet-black wing spread out, and the flapping wings dissipated the airflow. The dark outline appeared in the red light, and the dark dragon's body seemed to be covered with metal armor. It stretched its neck and raised its head, and the moment it roared, it seemed as if the street buildings were shaking.
[ Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ATK 2400]
The onlookers were all boiling!
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon! The real thing!"
"That is the dragon that is rumored to be second only to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in the duel monster world, and it is a rare card among rare cards!"
"The white dragon brings victory, and the black dragon brings possibility."
This was a widely circulated sentence among duelists in this world. It described the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which was enough to prove the status of this dragon in the minds of the duelists.
With the successful summoning of his trump card, Jonouchi's fighting spirit also rose to its peak. He couldn't help but clenched his fists and shouted excitedly: "Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack! Dark Flame Shot!" (1)
The pitch-black dragon opened its mouth, and dark red energy was brewing in it like lava. The red-black light ball shot out with the high-pitched dragon roar, and the Elemental HERO's thick body was completely unable to withstand the high temperature. The defensive power of up to 2000 was instantly penetrated, and his entire body was also swallowed up in the flames.
Although Yuei Vu was not hurt because the monster was on the defensive, the aftermath of the flames and the whirlwind caused by the impact made Yuei Vu raise his arms involuntarily.
He began to understand a little bit.
Although Red-Eyes Black Dragon in front of him was just an ordinary monster with 2400 ATK and no effect, but even so, the king's aura at the moment of its debut, the momentum, and coercion of the attack were so great that most monsters couldn't compare.
Although it was only a virtual image, it could bring a strong sense of oppression to the opponent.
Maybe he felt that he would win because his ace monster has already been summoned, Jonouchi was prideful at the moment. He smiled and rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger, and said, "I'll set two more cards and end my turn."
Yuei Vu took a deep breath.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon… If it was a week ago, if he had played with his initial deck of Sparkman, which was literally his trump card, he might have lost.
Because it seemed funny to say, but with that initial deck, there was really no way to get rid of the 2400 ATK monster…
But it's different now, he already has countermeasures in his deck.
Now all he needs was a draw of fate.
Yuei Vu put his fingers on the deck, and meditated in his heart—
——Come to me, Polymerization!
"My turn, draw!"
Yuei Vu opened his eyes and glanced at the card he had drawn, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Success!
"I activate Spell card – Polymerization!" Without hesitation, Yuei Vu played this card that was still warm after being opened from the card pack.
Jonouchi was shocked: "What? It's actually Polymerization!?"
"I fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix in my hand!" Yuei Vu threw two waste heroes to his GY.
Come out, my favorite hero – Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!
…Oh, sorry to bother you, he doesn't have that card.
"Fusion Summon!" Yuei Vu placed the Polymerization card on the Duel Disk, "Elemental HERO Nova Master!"
TL's note:
1. To avoid confusion, I'll translate the attack names according to Japanese names. For example, Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack will be Dark Flame Shot, so it won't be confused with the card Inferno Fire Blast.